Sharrow was once a warrior-spy and leader of a combat team. Living in a state of semi-retirement, she suddenly found herself the target of the Huhsz, a religious cult, and realised that she had to find and reform her old team if she had any hope of survival. By the author of the "Culture" sequence.

Two and a half millennia ago, the Excession, a perfect black sphere, appeared in a remote corner of space. It did nothing, then disappeared. Now it is back, and someone who saw it the first time has information on its staggering potential, but she is living out her death in the Sleeper Service.

Frank, no ordinary 16-year-old, lives with his father outside a remote Scottish village. His elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital. When news comes of Eric's escape, Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return.